Review: #782
Name: Cliffjumper
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Generations - Studio Series
Year of Release: 2023
Size Class: Deluxe (Wave 21)
Mold Status: retool of Studio Series Gamer Edition Bumblebee
Mold Status: retool of Studio Series Gamer Edition Bumblebee
VEHICLE MODE:
Being a retool of Bumblebee, Cliffjumper transforms into a red Cybertronian car as he had appeared in the game.
The game is actually quite good, from both the front and back.
That said, he is very compact and as a result, feels small. This wouldn't be so much an issue if not for the fact that he's quite hollow and light, adding to that cheap plastic feel.
The black and neon highlights helps break up the red, and tries to give the glowing light effect from the game, but doesn't quite work (metallic paint highlights would have been better).
His robot weapons can all store in vehicle mode. One of the guns neatly store underneath the vehicle, while the other on the roof, and the sword pegs into the back.
A good vehicle mode and arguably the better one for this figure.
TRANSFORMATION:
Surprisingly annoying. The Gamer Edition figures seem to have subpar design compared to the mainline. Going into vehicle mode is particularly frustrating as there are parts that get in the way of each other, and that the whole thing doesn't hold together particularly well. Anyway, half the vehicle is a shell that forms a backpack. However, the front opens up to reveal his head and the arms fold out from the sides. The legs were tucked underneath the main body.
ROBOT MODE:
Cliffjumper looked good in product shots but he was displayed at a particular angle, which also happens to be his best angle. In reality, he is oddly proportioned, with a huge chest / torso and thin legs.
He carries a significant backpack, being half the vehicle folded up, but that was no different to the original toy.
The head sculpt is nice at least, the red plastic used here for the figure is the perfect shade.
In terms of size, he is a bit shorter than your typical Deluxe, and as mentioned earlier, he feels light for his size.
As part of the Studio Series, he comes with a cardboard stand depicting a scene from the game.
Articulation is fine, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.
He comes with a bunch of accessories, two guns and a sword.
The sword can be held in either hand and looks good.
To use his guns though, you remove his right arm and peg the weapon in its place. Theoretically it is supposed to mimic how their arms transforms into the weapons in the game, in actuality, it looks like you just stuck something to the end of his upper arm. It is not bulky enough to look good.
The other gun is better, as it is more like a cannon, but still feels stumpy as a result.
All three weapons can still store in robot mode, there are slots on his back to place everything there at once.
As mentioned, there are aesthetics issues, including how his feel isn't really only the wheels, the plastic on the outside cheapens the look. This robot mode feels like a step back from the original toy released a decade ago.
OVERALL:
Cliffjumper, like the rest of the Gamer Edition figures, feels like a step back in many areas compared to the original figures. He's smaller, less well painted, but the killer is not as well designed. There are proportion issues in robot mode that should have been immediately identified and reworked upon, instead, we get a subpar figure that doesn't feel like it is the celebration of the games like it should have been.
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